136 BERING STRAIT 



Following Bering on the way to the north came 

 Captain James Cook, in H.M.S. Resolution, who gave 

 Bering's name to the strait. Cook sighted Mount 

 St. Elias in May, 1778, and, cruising slowly along the 

 coast with many discoveries and much accurate survey- 

 ing, was off, and named, Cape Prince of Wales, the 

 western extremity of America, on the 9th of August. 

 He then crossed the strait and plied back until on 

 the 18th he sighted and named Icy Cape in 70 29'. 

 Close to the edge of the ice, which was as compact as 

 a wall, and seemed to be ten or twelve feet high at the 

 least, he sought persistently for a passage through, but 

 none was to be found ; and after reaching 70 6' in 

 196 42' (163 18' W.) on the 19th, he turned westward 

 to the Asiatic coast, along which he went until he 

 sighted and named Cape North, as already stated. 

 Then, blocked by ice, east, north, and west, he re- 

 turned, passing Cape Serdze Kamen (Bering's farthest) 

 and naming East Cape, confirming Bering's observation 

 that it was the most easterly point of Asia. 



On Cook's death at Hawaii Captain Charles Clerke, 

 of the accompanying vessel H.M.S. Discovery, took 

 command of the expedition and carried out Cook's 

 intention of making another effort during the follow- 

 ing year. The ice conditions were, however, worse. 

 The two ships found the ice block further south, and 

 as impenetrable as before, and Clerke's highest was 

 70 33' on the American side, on the 19th of July. 

 As it was Cook's last voyage, so it was Clerke's. He 

 was in a bad way with consumption, and continued his 

 work in the north, though, under the special circum- 

 stances and being in command, he could at any time 



